Jenson Wood Boiler ?

 
gutts
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Post by gutts » Sat. Feb. 23, 2008 5:48 pm

Hello
I just about ran out of wood.
I just bought a little "A"coal .
I just found out that the shacker in the boiler is either warped, or has a nail in it.
I put 40 lbs of coal in.
I have not burned 10 galons of oil since oct.
I do not know much about coal.
I thank everyone for their imput.

1can the coal in the boiler now just kinda get "stirred" like wood ?
2 does anyone have any info on the boiler I have......jenson no model no.
3


 
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coaledsweat
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Post by coaledsweat » Sat. Feb. 23, 2008 7:30 pm

Here are some basics for anthracite, I'm not sure what your A coal is. http://www.homewarmth.com/pdffiles/coalburningtips.pdf

You will need to clear the obstruction, the grate will have to function properly to be successful. You will need to shake it down about twice a day.

Once you have a good fire going, fill the coal to the top of the firebrick. Close all vents above the fire for anthracite too, all the air must come from below the grates to burn well.

Do not stir an anthracite fire, it is grumpy and doesn't like to be disturbed.
So when James Bond said, "Shaken, not stirred", he was talking about coal fires? Not martinis? :)

 
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Post by [email protected] » Sun. Feb. 24, 2008 12:34 am

Thank You for the imput. I put the coal in about 1:00 pm, it is almost 1:00 am it is glowing like a son of a gun. I guess I will let it go till I wake up tomorrow.
The boiler I have is a jenson, no model no. it has a fan under, controlled by an aquastat. the fan entry has a damper[ a flapper type valve that closes when the fan shuts off]. When I wake up I will have to stir it then go and get some wood.
I put 40 lbs of coal in , it does not look like much, I can not believe it can last very long at all. It seems to burn much much slower than wood though.
This is a great site I know there is a lot of info here that I will be digesting over the next few days !!

 
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Post by LsFarm » Sun. Feb. 24, 2008 12:16 pm

Hello gutts, and welcome to the forum... could you post a photo of the firebox of the jensen?

If you want to burn anthracite coal effectively, you need to get the shaker grates working... Once they are working, you should be able to start a fire, and keep it going for weeks or the rest of the season.. this is dependant on the design of of your firebox and grates, and the quality of the coal you are burning.

The most important items for burning anthracite: good shaker grates, under the fire combustion air and no over the fire air entering the boiler.. And fill the firebox up with coal, the deeper the better.. Anthracite coal likes a deep bed of coal,, My hand feed boiler was only able to hold about 8" deep of coal per load.. I modified it to hold 16-18" of coal per load,, my coal lasted longer, burned better and hotter..

hope this helps.. Greg L

 
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Post by gutts » Tue. Feb. 26, 2008 4:00 pm

Hello
Sorry I could not get back here faster. Thank You all for the info . In my first post I referred to "A" coal meaning anthracite. I just looked at the bag , it is "nut coal"...?
I bought two 40 lbs. bags for $15.00 I am sure that if I pursue this tangent , I can find it cheaper . ??
You are right in the fact that the shaker needs to be fixed. The 80lbs burned for about 15 hours without a shake. The next morning there was coal left over , maybe 20lbs , but the house temp was on it's way down.
I have burned wood for years , the coal was kind of a lark , but it does warrant some consideration. Can Yall make out the pics?
I have burned this year ,in an 1600 sq. ft. ranch , with the addition of a 40 gal. hot water zone , umm a lot of wood . [The pile is always dynamic and , therefore cannot be mesured] [woods/truck/pile/cellar or woods/truck/cellar]
Is coal a consideration ?
It is safer to buy coal than cut wood, wood is free , ..........
I told my sons that , if this coal works out , instead of going up in the woods[ 2 miles] with the chain saw , we might be driving to pa. [200 miles] :D with some shovels.....

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wood stove 004.jpg

Jenson since 1929

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Post by LsFarm » Tue. Feb. 26, 2008 4:58 pm

Hello 'gutts'. Have you had time to clean out the grates and remove whatever is jamming them?? Your firebox looks like most of the wood/coal combo fireboxes.. You should with a little work and experimentation be able to burn coal reasonably well.

Take a look at the Clayton burning coal topic here: Successfully Burning Anthracite Coal in a Clayton Furnace

Getting the shaker grates to shake then once a coal fire is estabiished, FILL the firebox to the top of the firebrick, and fill it the full length too. You don't want any air to be able to get around the fire.. all air must come through the fire from below, through the ashpan area and it's air controls.

Greg L.

 
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Post by coaledsweat » Tue. Feb. 26, 2008 6:31 pm

That beast looks a lot like mine. :) It even has a by-pass damper.

Yes, you can get nut a lot cheaper here in CT.

I would get the grates working right and then load it way up. If that is an air vent on the door, it must be sealed. Is there a step or lip inside that door? It looks like you can't go real deep with that tall door. I would try to get some depth to your coal bed, it will run a lot better in the V design if you can get the coal bed deep. When I first started using my boiler, the manual said fill it to the top of the firebrick. That worked and was about 9" deep at best. It worked OK, but after a few weeks it would require a shutdown, clean out and restart. When I talked to a guy at the place that made it, he said fill it up to the door. That worked much better. Now, I actually load it 2" higher than the door by grading it back from it. That puts the depth at over 14", thats 5" more than the factory said to fill it (I guess you don't need to know how to burn anthracite to sell a boiler). Now the coal fire is right against the steel (you can do this in a boiler, don't try it with a stove), I burn less coal, less ash, never any trouble, even when burning down low. The fire just keeps going nice as pie. There is no substitute for depth!

Where are you? I'm south of you somewhere. I may just have to come and look at that gem. :)


 
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Post by LsFarm » Tue. Feb. 26, 2008 7:41 pm

Or maybe you can place some fire bricks between the door and the fire, allowing a deeper fire.
In the photo below, this is what I did, in the extreem, to go from an 8"deep fire to an 18" deep fire.

Greg L
firebrickwall.jpg
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Post by gutts » Tue. Feb. 26, 2008 7:56 pm

Hello
Thanks for the info .
This boiler when I threw the coal into it had a bed of coals in it . It lit that coal up reasonably well . The lower door you see in the photo is the ash clean out door . This unit has a thermo controlled fan[blower?] opposite the clean out door , in the back . The air goes into the clean out and up through the great . When I put the coal in it was pretty much leval with the fire brick , 80 lbs. . After I threw the coal in , I ran upstairs to this computor to get some insite . 12 hrs after I put the coal in it looked just like some of the pics I have seen on this site ,[look up] , nice blue flames . I do not have anyway to judge if I was getting the most of my coal .
This unit has not been idle since 11/15/07 , this wood stuff does get tiring this time of year , or is it this time of life ? I will have to check into the grate in the spring , I swore I would not buy oil this year and the oil tank is about half . I want to save that half tank for summer .
I am located up in the woods in Higganum . [end of 77 go east 4 miles]

 
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Post by gutts » Tue. Feb. 26, 2008 8:35 pm

That clayton burning coal thread is yery interesting . I want to burn coal for challenge of it ! So much in life to do and learn so little time .
I learned a few things . I have got to get some fire brick . I do have a barometric damper on the fresh air intake , in front of the fan . When the fan goes on it opens up . When the fan shuts off it closes . I also installed a dump zone in the basement . With the wood I have got to keep an eye on the outside temp. I have the fan shut off faster when it is warm . Speaking of warm WHEN will mud season be here in earnest ? :roll:

 
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Post by Coal Jockey » Tue. Feb. 26, 2008 9:12 pm

With regards to depth of coal bed: I second the motion to place some sort of "dam" just inside the fire door to allow a deeper bed. On my Newmac, I just scrounged up a piece of old thin plate and cut it to the right length and dropped it in place just inside the door. The bottom edge rests on the grates where they attach to the front (they are round shafts at that point) and the weight of the coal keeps it from falling in. It will likely not last another season as it runs cherry red all the time and is flaking away rapidly and has warped badly. I like to run between a 10 and 14 inch bed of coals in a firebox 16" wide by 24" long. I could make steam for a thrashing engine if I wanted to really push 'er. Nut burns much hotter than Stove size in my unit, catches quicker and is more intense but not as steady and long lasting.

$15.00 for two bags?? I sell one bag cash and carry for that, and people are glad to get it. There hasn't been a shovelful of anthracite sold in this part of Ontario for 30 years. I'm the first person advertising coal for home heating in decades. I've had old timers calling me up to reminisce - "I remember, years ago, they used to..."

 
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Post by JAMESPOY » Fri. Nov. 28, 2008 8:53 am

HI I HAVE JUST PURCHASED A JENSON WOOD BOILER FROM A FRIEND. IT'S FROM 1986 AND HAD NEVER BEEN FIRED.THE DAMPER IN THE BOILER WAS MISSING AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE. I HAVE INSTALLED A DAMPER IN THE FLUE BUT WOULD LIKE TO GET/MAKE A DAMPER THAT BELONGS IN THE BOILER.A PICTURE OR INFO WOULD BE GREAT

 
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Post by gutts » Sun. Nov. 30, 2008 12:02 am

Hello
Sorry I did not get back sooner [lost password] Does your jenson look like this one? If so I can send some picks of what I have . I will need to cool it down some though . It has been fired since oct. 15 and will not stop till apprill 15 . Next weekend will be the time to do it .i will keep it in mind and contact you .. ? [through this thread...?or email...?] soon .
Dave
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Post by borden_bob » Sun. Nov. 30, 2008 8:25 pm

Can anyone out there help me? I have a jensen that looks like the one pictured in this thread, and I have no idea how to find the model, and I need new shaker grates, mine broke. Does anyone know where I can get them. I can't find anything......ironically I tried burning coal for the first time today and have to say I'm hooked. No more cutting and splitting? there is a heaven!

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

 
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Post by borden_bob » Sun. Nov. 30, 2008 8:27 pm

I forgot to say my email address is [email protected]. I'm not that swift on these forums. It took me 20 min to register.


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